Vantage Viewpoint

Study: Mobile commerce to generate $235 billion globally in 2013

Jul 22 2013 12:59 PM

It is impossible to deny that smartphones and tablets have a place in the future of many daily tasks. One of these areas is mobile commerce and some experts believe that it could be the most influential platform of the future.

A recent article from the Huffington Post features a round up of several reports that show how important mobile devices will be to the future of the consumer experience.

"According to market analysis and fellow mobile blogger, Horace Dediu, smartphones are the fastest and most ubiquitous consumer devices in the history of consumption," the article reads. "Well beyond the staggering consumption is the ubiquity of these devices. Where keys, purses and wallets are left at home, in the car or in gym lockers, our mobile devices remain closely tethered to us nearly all the time."

Business Insider reports that by the end of 2012, 7.9 million U.S. consumers had adopted some form of near-field communication (NFC) enabled devices. On top of that, mobile commerce payments through card readers reached $10 billion last year. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2013, global transactions will reach $235 billion, which represents a 44 percent increase from 2011.

As a mobile future becomes more apparent, consumers are going to seek to use the faster, more convenient method of payment. However, for this to be successful, merchants will need to meet this demand by providing a mobile commerce solution that customers want to use. Businesses that ignore this will find themselves behind their competitors and forced to play catch-up.